Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1887-02-04
HUNDREDs OF BILLS.

makers-A Busy Day at Hartford
The Rush Ended-B Bills That VIII
Interest new Haveners-The Hearing
Before the Committee ON LabOr-A
Weekly Payment to be Recommend
ed-A Summary OF ii Business Trans
acted In the House and Senate
Trinity Colleg e I'm a Predicament.
HARTFORD, Feb. 8.
Especial to the JOURNAL AND COURIER
The limit for the reception of new business
in the legislature is passed for this session
and the lawmakers will now begin deciding
on how many of those presented during the
past month will be placed on the statute
books To-day being the last day for new
business there was grand rush among the
members of the House to get their particular
bill, petition or remonstrance presented.
There were one hundred and sixty different
bills presented during the session of the
House up to 1:45 to-day, the hour set for
the limit of new business. There were bills
brought to the attention of the legislators
| upon almost every conceivable subject The
clerks heaved deep signs of relief as the last
of the one hundred and sixty bills present
ed to the House was read. There is more
| business to be acted upon this session than
legislature any Ion ger in session as the bust
ness is of less trying character and there
will probably not be SO many windy hearings
and speeches.
The labor committee met this afternoon
| and took up the weekly payment and factor
| izing bills Representative Kehoe's bill No
| SO was the one discussed, the other bills,
| three in number, being nearly identical. The
| bill provides that every manufacturing, msr-
| camille and railroad corporation shall pay
weekly each and every employe engaged in
its business the wages earned by such en-
ploye to within seven days of the date of
such payment, provided, however, that if ut
| any time of payment any employe shall
| be absent from his regular place Of
labor, he shall be entitled to such
payment at any time thereafter or on de-
mand. The bill also provides that every
corporation violating any of the provisions
of the preceding section shall forfeit the sum
of fifty dollars, half to him who shall sue
| therefor and half to the State. Represent
alive Kehoe was the first to address the com
mittee; he spoke for ten minutes in favor of
| the bill he had introduced. He thought the
workmen required weekly payment bill and
should be paid their wages as soon as earned.
| The majority of the manufacturers in the
State are willing to pay weekly and it is to
| compel those who do not that introduced
| this bill. Representative Hume of New Ha-
| ven advocated the bill. There is hardly any
question but that something ought to be
| done in the way of bringing about weekly
payments The workingmen Of the State
should be granted this boon, because now
| thSy have no equity. 1t is known that many
manufacturers pay weekly, but if any por-
ton of the States people are injured why
the whole of the people of the State suffer.
The public demands weekly payments. The
| so per cent. bill has been talked of, but am
afraid there would be continual friction
| if the so per cent. bill were adopted.
| What we want is some bill
| that will be fair and just all around. We
| don't ask the legislature to take anything
| from the manufacturers. I hope, gentlemen
| of the committee, that you will consider
| this matter in all its branches. One of the
| largest manufactures in New Haven, that
of J. B. Sargent & Co., pays it's workmen
| weekly. They have no eighty Per cent pay
ments, and their business is such that GER
Il tain pieces of work are not finished for
| weeks, but the managers of the concern
| know their business SO we'll that they can
4 accurately figure on each mans work. Pat
/ rick Finley, who halls from Windham, Gre
ated much laughter among the members of
the committee and the spectators by the
| manner in which he presented his views on
| the matter. He was strongly op
posed to the paying weekly and
| said that the workingmen from where he
came were also opposed to the bill. They
are satisfied with the present way of paying
| in vogue by many and nearly all the
manufacturers In our country-that of
| monthly payments. I am acquainted with
4 ninetenths of the workingmen of the coun-
| ty said he, and they do not consider it q
| grievance to get their pay monthly. The
| gentleman next to address the committee was
| Mr.. Watson of Bridgeport, who stated that
| he was bookkeeper for a manufacturing
concern in his town where six hundred men
we're employed and all favored strongly
weekly payments. His remarks seemed well
taken and carried considerable force. Mr..
Watson said there would be much unneces-
sary work in regard to the eighty per cent.
bill and he did not favor it. A full payment
each week is what the workingmen want. We
| have no trouble in making up our pay roll
every Wednesday or Thursday and
| pay our own help when they earn and need
| it, and 80 per cent. of our men on piece work
/ at that. We were cursed to death by the
| eternal running of creditors, lawyers or
| sheriffs when we paid our men monthly, but
| they don't come now that we pay weekly.
Another thing in favor of the weekly pay
| ment bill is that the men who are thus paid
| do not come to ask for money every little
while. This calling for money on an average
of four or five times q month by the work
| men, who found it necessity to do 80,
| necessitated my keeping a script account,
| which has now been entirely done away with
under the present system of payment. The
nur Of IL
feel assured that if the manufacturers were
to pay their help weekly it would do much to
do away with it and help establish a cash
basis.
Senate bill No. 9 and House bill 43, both
alike in the main, provide tor the exempt
ing of wages from attachment. Representa-
tive HUME, who introduced bill No. Az, sd
vocared is and said that in his belief week
ly payment bill would fall far short of it's
purpose and good unless the credit system
was done away with by exempting wages
from attachment. Mr.. Hunie's bill provides
for a stated amount, $40. am very anx-
ous said he, that the cash system be brought
about and when it is the workingmen's con-
ditlon will be much better. Workmen in
general are a happy and rather reckless class
of people, and when they can easily get cred
it they do it without thinking on the ques-
ton whether no it will injure thsm-and
it most certainly does. I say to east off the
credit system and the cash basis will soon be
reached.
Manufacturer Gilbert, of wallingford, told
the committee how twenty years ago he ia
vored the factorizing law, but to-day he most
emphatically opposed it for many reasons.
1t Injuries the workingman in reputation and
morals. The man who gives the credit
ceives but little from the debt, as it is eaten
up in lawyers and Justices fees. 1t materi-
ally hinders the employer in his work, as he
is annoyed by creditors telling him to whom
ne must pay his money, and it damages all
parties concerned in the miserable affair. 1
favor the total abolition of the factorizing
law. Representative James E. Conner, of
New Haven, stated that he had had conversa-
lions with several retail merchants in his
eityAnd they were all unanimous on the re
peal of the factorizing law.
Senator Kirkham expressed his belief that
the repeal of the bill would produce much
higher moral character and produce more
self-respect ameng workmen, taking them as
class.
Mr.. Jeffrey o. Phelps, Of Simsbury,
thought that the whole trouble lay in the
man himself He was convinced that God